Sharks call up Couture with Ortmeyer likely to sit — and for four Sharks, a reminder of Olympic gold

VANCOUVER — Logan Couture will be in the lineup tonight and while Todd McLellan declined to say which forward Couture will be replacing, Jed Ortmeyer was the last one out on the ice this morning and that’s a pretty strong indicator.

Today’s was another optional skate and this time fewer players than usual took part. In fact, Evgeni Nabokov sat this one out even though he’s starting in the nets.

Both goalies tonight are trying to rebound after poor performances that saw them yanked before the final buzzer. No need to detail what happened to Nabokov in Dallas, but Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo also was pulled in the Canucks’ 5-2 loss to the Islanders on Tuesday night — one that was apparently almost as hard to take here as San Jose’s defeat was back home.

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“They’re not happy with the way they played in Dallas and we’re definitely not happy with the way we played the other night,” said Luongo, a rare goalie who holds court with the media on game days. “It should make for an interesting game. I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of intensity.”

Luongo, by the way, has been pulled four times in the last 13 games. Since the Olympics, his record is 7-5 with a .939 save percentage in games he’s won and a a .810 save percentage in games he’s lost. Those numbers courtesy of a Canadian sports network that covers hockey in exquisite detail.

****Four four of the Sharks, coming back to Vancouver meant coming back to the city and the building where they won Olympic gold with Team Canada.

And while they say they’ve moved on, there was still a positive vibe from the experience that Patrick Marleau hoped he’d be able to tap into.

‘It’s nice to come back and be welcomed,” Marleau said, referring to encounters on the street and in shops since the team arrived yesterday afternoon.

****Probably not ideal timing, but Jed Ortmeyer also spent time this morning with Jordan Heywood, a defenseman with the Victoria Grizzlies who is dealing with a blood clotting disorder similar to Ortmeyer’s.

Heywood doesn’t yet need the regimen of drugs that enables Ortmeyer to continue his NHL career, but said what Ortmeyer has accomplished lets him know that his own battle with deep vein thrombosis won’t have to be an obstacle if he has the ability to continue his hockey career at the pro level.

A 21-year-old native of Regina, Saskatchewan, Heywood will play for Merrimack College next fall.

David Pollak

David Pollak has been following the NHL forever and at the Mercury News as an editor or reporter since 1987. For almost a decade he wrote about the Sharks as the paper's Fan in the Stands before joining the sports department in 2001. He became the Sharks beat writer before the 2007-08 season and began this blog at that time. You can also follow him on Twitter at @PollakOnSharks.

Why does somebody have to validate your opinions for you to have them? Have your opinions and let other people have theirs. You seem to want to vent when the team is going badly and you take it out on other fans, others that you would call ‘regulars’ feel like venting when people come crying to a place they visit regularly.

Such is the circle of internet life.

lordstanleytosj

“Why does somebody have to validate your opinions for you to have them? Have your opinions and let other people have theirs”.

my point exactly

sjsharksfan45

DP, we need some updates…Where are you????

GP

My guess, DP is finally getting to the arena after traveling and hotel, etc.

SharkFin

So, Johnny San Jose is the real culprit! Have fun in Calgary tonight.

Torn on Nabby playing time. I want him hot going into the playoffs like he has been at times this season yet he’s played a lot of games and I want him rested, rejeuvenated for the playoffs.

Wish Demers was more seasoned, consistent and trustworthy on defense because I’d like to see his energy and offensive capabilities right now (realizing that this also comes at the expense of his D and may be what makes him inconsistent at this young age)